I rather enjoy the way that Marilyn tends to compose her images. On each canvas, there seems to be a definite center point where all the brush marks and strokes of color converge, reaching peak saturation. The edges of her works, by contrast, seem to fade into blackness, lending additional volume to each composition, something like the rise and fall of musical crescendos.

Each work is titled after the song that inspired it. Marilyn’s style of abstraction is highly variable depending on what the music inspires. Sometimes she uses blocky, almost geometric brush strokes in bright primary colors, while at other times the paintings are more subdued, with delicate, blended marks in a uniform color scheme. Marilyn is also skilled in figurative painting, as we noted in our last feature of her musical paintings. Her landscapes use an interesting style of small, layered brush strokes to create impressionist scenes.

About the author

Dallas Jeffs is the Editor of Artist Run Website's blog. She is a recent graduate of Emily Carr University of Art and Design, where she studied Critical and Cultural Practices. She is passionate about talking and writing about art, and sharing that interest with others. In her studio practice she is a painter, but she considers herself an art writer and educator foremost. If you like art, books and culture with a science fiction twist, check out Dallas' personal blog, HappySpaceNoises